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Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Chaos: How Texas and Houston are Impacted
/in General/by Bart TaylorMuch has been reported recently on the state of the Department of Commerce’s NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, or MEP. The program has been around since 1988, enacted to help small- and medium-sized U.S. manufacturers improve competitiveness, in a nutshell. It’s a worthy goal that’s led the efforts of all 50 MEP centers – one per […]
Renaissance Man: Dan Allford and ARC Specialties leads Houston manufacturing out of the oilfield and into the future
/in General/by Bart TaylorTo know Dan Allford is to understand that if one person could personify Houston manufacturing, it’s him. Not that he would agree; too modest from too many years in the patch, for one. But much like Houston, Allford and his company, ARC Specialties, is keeping one foot planted in the oilfield but the other in […]
‘Let’s Make it Here’: Why oilfield icon NOV is rallying in support of US manufacturers
/in General/by Bart TaylorAshe Menon sold his company to NOV (formerly National Oilwell Varco) in 2006 after his firm proved its mettle using mobile devices to help increase uptime on drilling rigs. He stayed on and took a new role in 2015 when NOV and others faced the largest oil and gas downturn in decades. Menon was asked to […]
Why OEMs and product manufacturers should rethink procurement
/in General/by Bart TaylorThere’s excess production capacity in America’s industrial base. Yet finding capable local suppliers is an opportunity that continues to be overlooked US manufacturing is stuck in a negative feedback loop. Consider Ford CEO Jim Farley’s otherwise well-intentioned comments relating to his company’s workforce challenges. “We are in trouble in our country,” Farley recently said, […]